Postal scale



W. A. HYDE.

POSTAL SCALE, uwucmou FILED uov. 14L me 1,367,972, Pqtented Feb. 8,1921.

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

. Jim-I -ilL, i. 1

' -WILL IA MZ- ALz-HYDEJ DFqGAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

Scnles, 0f ii hich the cation. I The. invention, as the title 'nid cates" t hites to 'si'ales especially 'ttdziptedjto the weighing of letters and 0th rpieces'bf mail matter. object of; theii yeh'tidn, gen- ;-1-:.illy,statcd, is the production of" a settle of the cliuracter indicated whicli'jciin be'inanu mum-1. at 'small cost butwhicfh 'is fhig hly sour-ate without the ncccssityl'of'adjust ment, and which is vcrylsirnplc durable, compact, light, conrenie'ntin us'e iintl pleasin ;in appearance. The "tin'ture' ofithe .improreinents and a preferred iqrmyof construction for attaining the foregoing object will be set forth in detailiin the following description in con'ncctionfivitnthe accompanying drawings. j

In Lheflran'ino; v V l Figurel is e iiont elevation of the scalleg Fig.2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig.8 is on enlarged fragmentary section tulrcn on the line of Fig. 1;

I Fig. '1. i;; nn enlarged side elev ation of the ien in weight showing its form prior toatinchment;

Fig. is n irugmc-ntnry front elevation of it portion o the scale with one of the parts removed to show the knife edge construe lion;

Fig. (i iS a Fi 1.

ilei'irring in detail to the construction illustr tethl a-support'formed from sheet metal and having a crtical stem part 1 and oppositely arranged atcmlly extending arms 1" and ,1 whichare preferably sr uate, as shown.- At its upper end the support has an apertured extension 1 in'which is loosely secured a suspension ring 2.

One arm of the support, preferably the right arm 1", has an arcuate strip of its section taken on the line ti6 of metal struck up to iorma guard or keeper 1", the purpose of which will presently appear. Above the guardjl the arm 1" carries a graduated scale of weights which is indicated by the numeral 3, thisscale extendin i'rom about/the vertical median line or plane of the support toward the right.

On the opposite side of said median line,

- Specification Letters Patent.

rent one harem-ea Feb. 8, 1921.

that'iSQ-onthe left arm 1 of the support, is a table of postal rates designated by the nuni'eral lfi d To 'tbe 'lgwer end olthe stem 1 of the support ispli vota'lly secured :1' beam 5. The bh fi n'i" has a 'lo'iigdepending counterweight Sfija 'lzrte riilly'extending short load arm 5" and :iii'up'w'ardly extending pointer or indicator arm 5, said .beam being preferztbh stamped from a single piece of sheet metal. The pit otal connection between the beam and the support consists essentially of a linife cdgc ivot' stud 6 of hardened steel u'hirh is rigidly secured to the lower end of the stem 1 of the support. and a dish 7 which may be and preferably i* ol' burdened steel and \TlHCll is secured to the boom and uitably apertured to IM'Olln the knife edge stud.

Scales of the general character of that herein set forth hare heretofore been prtr posedbuhhsfar as I am aware. all of said proposed scales have had their herons supportedon'plain cylindrical pivots. I have found that it is impossible to commercially propose a s'nle with a pivotal support of this latter chiirnctsr sufficiently accurate to meet: the tests and requirements to which su'h scales are subjected. On the other hand, the provision of a knife edge pivotal support for scales of this character has presented serious difiiculties not only on account oi" the cost of produring a satisfactory knife t ige construp'tion but also by reason of the relatively wide swing of the senlc beam which is necessary in a scale of the pendulum type. In the construction shown I have i'nlly ovcrcome these difficulties and will now ze 'er in further detail to the pivot parts.

' The pivot stud 6, Whi'h is made from round steel rod, has one end reduced as at 6" to enter an aperture in the lower end of the stem 1 of the support, while its opposite end part is reduced as at 6" to enter a head or mp 8 which is suitably drilled out to receive it. On the middle part'of the stud is formed the knife-edge 6, preferably by milling away the opposite sides of the stud which is thus formed with opposite concave sides 6", 6". By thus forming the stud I secure at its upper side a very thin knife edge and at its lower side a thick body of metal which insures am le strength and permits the reduced en ,partsG; 6 to be made of substnntial. dimensions.

The female member 7 of the pivot connection is preferably in the form of a cylindrical disk of hardenedsteel which is made with an aperture 7 of a form especially designed to cooperate with the peculiarly formed knife edge. That is to say, the two upper sides 7", 7 of the aperture are convexly shaped to conform to the adjacent concave sides of the knife edge stud. while the lower side of the aperture is preferably formed on a circlestruckabout the intersection of the sides 7", 7". said intersection forming the. saddle which rests upon the knife edge. Thisknife edge saddle is eccentric with respect to the center of the insert 7 and the axis of the pivot stud, a feature having a purpose which will presently ap near.

I ith the two parts of the knife edge support thus formed, I secure great strength and rigidity for the stud by reason of the great width of its lower part, and, at the same time, provide for an adequate swing of the beam without making the angular opening of the aperture at the saddle large enough to permit the latter to slip off the knife edge when the beam is swung to its extreme limit. The maximum angular opening of the aperture at the saddle which is feasible may be taken as and I have found it possible by the use of my improved construction to provide a stud of practical dimensions having a knife edge proper of 10, allowing fora beam swing of (50 and for an additional clearance on each side of the stud of 7 thus making a total of only 85 angular opening at the saddle so that the displacement of the knife edge from the saddle is entirely obviated while an ample swing of the beam is secured.

When the pivot stud 6 and the disk 7 have been formed, as described, they are suitably case hardened so that wear between the engaging knife edge parts is practically wholly obviated, and the scale is rendered highly sensitive.

The knife edge stud 6 is preferably secured in the arm 1 by the operation of a spinning riveter which rivets the metal of the arm on and around the stud in a manner understood by those familiar with metal work of this character. As shown in Fig. 3 the cylindrical disk 7 is made thicker than the metal of the beam 5 so as to afford a working clearance between the beam and the support. The insert 7 is preferably secured to the beam by giving it a forced fit in a circular aperture previously formed in the beam so that it is securely held and yet is capable of angular adjustment. The beam is operatively secured in position on the pivot stud by means of the head 8 which is drilled out to receive the front end of the stud and is preferably secured by a forced fit.

The utility of my improved knife-edge pivot is obviously not dependent upon the specific form of the other features of the scale illustrated, and itwill be understood thatsubstitution for said features of equivalent forms of construction such for example as a spring for a counterweight, can be made in so far as the knife edge support is concerned.

The weight arm 5 of the beam carries at its lower end a counterwei ht 9. In the preferred construction this weight is in the form of a cylindriealblock formed in its upper side with a slot 9 to receive the lower end of, the beam arm 5. The bottom of the said slot 9* is straight and the end of the beam arm is formedwithrelatively widely separated bearing points to engage the straight surface at the bottom of the slot in the weight so that the latter can be quickly and accurately positioned on the beam arm.

When it has been thus positioned it is socured by stamping the metal adjacent the slot down upon the weight arm so that the latter is very firmly clamped and the weight thus secured.

To the free end of the load arm 5" is loosely connected a-load holder 10 which may be of any suitable construction, but is preferably in the form of a combined spring clip and book, as shown. It will be observed that the hook 10 of the load holder is formed a onthe longer end thereof while the other shorter end of the load holder terminates in a widened circle 10 one side of which presses against the other end of the holder to form cooperating parts of the clip while the other side overlies the end of the hook 1O so that the latter is effectively guarded and prevented from catching in things and yet is readily available for its intended use.

The indicator arm 5 of the beam, as previously indicated, is designed to cotiperate with the scale of weights 3 on the right arm of the support 1. When the parts of the scale are assembled. the upper, pointer end of the arm 5 extends between the arm 1" of the support and the guard 1*, as indicated in Fig. 1, so that the swinging movement of the beam is limited to correspond to the scale of weights 3 and it is impossible for the beam to get in an inoperative position in relation to the support. This not only insures convenience in the use of the scale, but prevents the pointer from becoming displaced and being accidentally caught and bent.

I have already referred to the fact that the knife edge saddle is eccentric with respect to the center of the circular steel disk 7.

By virtue of this fact I am enabled, when the beam is assembled 'on the support, to-

readily adjust the effective length of the load arm 5*. to take account of any slight inaccuracy in manufacture and insure anabsolutely accurate reading of the scale. This adjustment is effected by simply turning the disk 7 in the beam, this bein readily accomplished b inserting 'a suitab a tool in the aperture 0 the disk'so that'the latter can be turned in relation to the-beam.

The manner of using the scale .will be readily understood without a detail description. The position 'ofthe beam when loaded is shown in Fi 1 When the scale is unloaded the weig t arm 5' ha endulumlike from the ivot stud 6 whi e t a pointer is at zero on t e graduated scale of'weights. The letter, or other'article to be weighed is attached to the holder 10 and, the scale eing held by the sus nding rin 2, the pointer, moving with t e beam, indicates the weight of the article: then the user, b glancing at the table of weights on the'le t arm of the support, notes the posta e required. The arran ement of the graduated scale of Wei his and ofthe table'of rates in the s aces irectly opposite each other, is foun to render the'read' ':of the scale exceedin ly ea and convenient, especially asb'oth t e gra uated scale and the table of rates are upon' the stationary support; "Furthermore, this arran ement lends itself to a symmetrical form 0% construction, such as illustrated, and the symmetry of the parts gives 'the scale a veryleasing appearance.

In 1 a letter is indicated (by dotted lines)"as inserted in the holder clip. Itwill, of course, be understood that when a ackage or other article of bulk is to be weig ed it can be attached to the book 10" of the load holder.

A construction such as I have herein: set forth lends itself admirably to machine methods of manufacture'which insure both a high degree of accuracy and a minimum cost of production, thus the support 1, the beam '5 and the steel disk 7 can be stamped and formed from sheet metal, accurate die stampin 's of this character being readily produce Again, the knife edge )ivot stud 6, as well as its head or cap 8, Ion s itself to automatic or semiautomatic machine operations and can be rapidly reduced from round rod stock. The weig t 9, too, lends itself to ra id production from round r0 $223k by suitable specially designed machine As stated above, such methods of production insure accuracy as well as cheapness, but the effect of any slight inaccuracy in the production of the parts of the scale is overcome by the adjustment of the pivot disk 7 as set orth above.

Various modifications in the form and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the broader features of the invention, and it will be understood that the constructions shown in the drawings and the foregoing description thereof are for the purpose of illustration and explanation and in no sense intended to limit the invention.

What I claim is 1. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a support carrying a graduated scale of weights, an elongated keeper on the support extending approximately parallel to the scale of weights, and a beam com prising a load arm, a counterwei ht arm and an elorlifated pointer arm, said beam being pivota y mounted on the support with the pointer arm extending between the body of. the support and said keeper in cooperative relation with the graduated scale of weights.

2. 'In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a sheet metal support carrying a graduated scale of weights and formed with an integral elongated guard extending a proximately parallel to the said scale oi weights, and a sheet metal beam comprising a load arm, a counterweight arm and an elongated pointer arm. said beam being pivotally mounted on the supp rt with the pointer arm extending between the body of the support and the keeper in coiiperatire relation with the graduated scale of weights.

3. In a weighing apparatus. the combination of a sheet metal support carrying a raduated scale of weights and former! with keeper means struck up from the metal of thesupport, and a sheet metal beam having a load arm, a counterweight arm and a pointer, said beam being pivotally mounted on the support with the pointer in cooperative relation with the graduated scale o weights and between parts of tlukeeper means which serve to limit the swing of (hr: pointer and' beam.

4. in a weighing apparatus, the con-dune.- tion of a support of sheet metal carrying a graduated scale of weights and formed with an elongated keeper struck up from the metal of the support and attached thew-to at its ends only, and a beam compr sing a. load :1 rm. a counterweight arm and a weight indicatin arm, said beam being pivot-ally mounted on the su port with the weight indicating arm exten mg between the body of the support d and the keeper in cooperative relation with thescale of weights on the support.

- 5, In a weighing apparatus. the combination of a support carrying a graduated scale of weights, a beam having a load arm, a counterweight arm and an index adapted to -oiiperate with the graduated scale of wei 'hts, and a pivotal connection between bllBTJBBl'll and the support comprising a knife edge pivot stud with conizave sides secured to one of the two members mentioned and a part carried by the other of the two members and formed with an aperture for the stud having convex sides adjacent the concave sides of the stud and forming at their intersection a saddle for the knife edge.

fill

lllf) llU 6. in a weighing apparatus, the combine-- 111111 and an index to coo crate with the scale weights, and a pivota connection between said two parts'comprising a knife ed stud secured in one of said parts and a d i k in sorted in the other part, said disk being aperture'd to form a saddle ior the'knife edge and being thicker than the partin which it is mounted to s are said part from the other said part and insure it working clearance between them.

i. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of asupport carrying a graduated scale of weights, :1 beam'havin a load arm, a counterweight arm and an index, nndmeans pivotally connecting the beam to the support comprising a knife edge carried vby one of the two members mentioned and a saddle or the knife edge carried by the other of said nienibers, one of the the knife edge pivot PiiiS being adjustable about an axis of rot Lion to vary the GiIBCi-l\-fi length of one of the arms oi the beam.

S. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a. support carrying a. graduated scale of weights, a beam having a load arm, a counterweight arm and an index, and a pivotal connection between the beam .andsupport comprising a pivot stud formed with a knife edge and secured to one'of the two members mentioned and a circular disk formed with an aperture for the knife edge stud, with a saddle for the knife edge eccentrio with respect-t0 the periphery oiethe disk, said disk being rotatably adjustably secured to the other of the first two members mentioned and adapted when adjusted .to vary the effective length of one of the beam arms 9. in a weighing apparatus, the combination of a support carrying a graduated scale of weights, a beam having a laterally extending load arm,- a depending counterweight-arm and an indexto cooperate with the graduated scale of weights, and a pivotal connection between the beam and the sup port comprising a stud securedLto the-support and formed with a knife edge and a circular disk formed with an aperture for the knife edge stud with a saddle for the knife edge eccentric with respect 'to the periphe of the disk said c'irculai disk being rotata 1y adjustab y secured in the beam and adapted when adjusted to rary' the effective length of the load arm of the beam.

10. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a support of relatively soft sheet metal, a beam also .of relatively soft sheet metal andta pivotal connection between the support,and eam comprising a pivot stud of hardened steel secured in an aperture in the support by riveting the metal of the support about-theIstud. and e-hardened steel member iipertured to reoeiveflthe i'vot stud and securedjn an aperture inthe' eamwith uforced f 11. In a weighing npparatus, the combination. of a support,,a Hat sheetmetel beam pivotally ,mountedflon ,the support, said beam having a load .arm and: it counterweight arm, and an integral weight forrncd with a slot which embraces the free end of the said counterweight arm with its bottom engaging the end of the arm to accurately space the weight from the beam pivot and its sides ti htly clamping the sides of the arm to rigi ly secure the weight thereto- 12. Ina weighing apparatus, the combination of a supportna beam pii'otzlly mounted on the supportand having a load arm and ii. counterweight arm, end 21 depending load holder pivotally connected to the load arm, said holder having a hook at its lower end and a spring cli above the hook with arts that overlie an guard the ,i'ree end 0 the hook, r

13. In a weighing apparatus, the combination, of a support, a beam pivotally mounted on the support and havin and Ya counterweight arm, antFa depending load holder pivotnlly connected to the load arm, the said holder bein made of a resilient wire bent upon itseli to form two depending arms one of which is shaped at its ower eudto form a hook while the other is formed ,with a loop that bears against the first arm and overlies and guards the free end of the said book.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si 'nature.

WILLIAM A. HYDE.

a load arm I 

